The Factor shows his class in Grade 2 San Vicente

After setting a six-furlong track record of 1:06.98 at Santa Anita Dec. 26 in his eye-catching 8 1/4 length debut, The Factor had plenty of attention going into the Feb. 20 San Vicente (G2) (VIDEO). With his natural speed, trainer Bob Baffert knew that his 3-year-old star was going to have to prove he could handle pressure on the front end with the step up in class.

The hot pace Baffert expected did come, with The Factor right on the front end from the outset. The gray/roan colt zipped through a first half mile in :43.41, with a length and a half lead. He maintained the margin at the six furlong mark, which went in 1:07.31. Kept to the task in the late stages by Martin Garcia, he crossed the finish line with a three-quarter length win over Sway Away, stopping the clock in  1:20.34, just three ticks off the track record on a wet-fast track. His effort was rewarded with a 102 Beyer Speed Figure, his second straight race in triple digits.

“He’s so talented,” Baffert said of The Factor. “I knew he was going to get a lot of pressure up front. I told Martin, ‘You are the speed. Let’s go with him and find out what he’s made of.’ He got a little tired at the end. That’s a nice horse that ran second.”

“He has a lot of speed and I know that the horse inside of me had a lot of speed, too,” Garcia said. “I just let him break by himself. The more you fight, the more he’s going to take off. He doesn’t want to be behind horses, so I just let him be comfortable and he kept going. He is still learning.
“This is only the third time he has been out. I think the more that he runs, the better he will get. I don’t think any horse can keep up with him, as fast as he went.”

Bred in Kentucky by H & W Thoroughbreds, the colt is by War Front out of Greyciousness and cost $250,000 as a 2-year-old at Barretts last May. The Factor is owned by Fog City Stable and George Bolton. Their speedy youngster is two for three lifetime; he was fourth in his debut at Hollywood Park on Nov. 28.

Baffert will likely try a longer race next, but was not making anything definite in terms of the Triple Crown Trail. “One thing about George (Bolton), he’s very patient,” he said. “He’s been in this game a long time and we’ll wait for The Factor to tell us when he’s ready to jump back into the fray. It’s hard to get a horse like this. They don’t come around very often.”

The Factor has now earned $124,680 after the $90,000 San Vicente payday.